33 Old Fashioned Traditional Skills that are Easy to Learn + Save Money

In this modern world we are losing touch with some old fashioned traditional skills that we really should preserve. You don’t need to even own land to embrace homesteading! You can learn to homestead anywhere. Homesteading is a way of life, a mindset and it is very rewarding. These old fashioned skills can be learned even if you live in an apartment or on an urban lot.

Living the old fashioned way in a modern world is a growing movement, with more and more people interested in learning these lost survival skills.

These may seem like depression era household tips, but they are so much more. In a SHTF scenario, the people with the forgotten survival skills will be the ones that come out on top.

Why Should we Learn Old Fashioned Traditional Skills?

Traditional homesteading skills are great to learn for ourselves, as well as to teach to the up and coming generation. These skills will ultimately save you money in the long run.

AND they can stop you being reliant on big, greedy corporations for everything.

AND it is just so SATISFYING getting things done. Yourself. With your own two hands.

No matter where you live, there are some traditional homesteading skills that you can utilize. You do not have to wait until you have a big plot of land to get started.

In fact I would suggest that you are much better off starting learning a few of these traditional skills immediately and slowly build your tool box of abilities. This gives you plenty of time and space to practice.

How do you know what Old Fashioned Traditional Skills are best to learn first?

Pick something that interests you. Something that will be most useful for you and start there.

Because, in an emergency when inevitably you will want some of this information, the internet and power may well be down. Also it is so you don’t spill your milk/cooking/fermenting on the computer, mama will get mad!

Be prepared for anything, have a good, useful library at your place. Plus who wants to snuggle up with a good phone/laptop/tablet when you could read an actual book?! Books are great at teaching you the old timey skills that will get you prepared for any disaster.

Make Yogurt
Fresh yogurt is super easy to make, and so satisfying to eat. And all the probiotics in it are super fresh, active and optimally beneficial. There is however a knack to making thick and creamy goats milk yogurt.

Render your own cooking fats
Butter, tallow, lard and dripping are the traditional fats for cooking. They are the healthy, low inflammation option, and are super easy and cheap to render yourself.

Can Food
There are so many recipes out there for preserving food. You don’t even have to have grown it yourself. It might just be a super good deal that you got at the store, so you can buy lots and put it away to use later.

All sorts of crafty messes happen in our living room, so we now have a dedicated craft room. There are quite a few craft and craft-related skills that are actually very handy to know.

Crochet
Be it a fancy shawl or a simple scarf, crochet is the fancy little sister to knitting and it will keep you warm and gorgeous. Crochet hooks and yarn are super affordable, making this a great frugal hobby.

Tan a Hide
Tanning is becoming a lost art. Using skins was deemed horrible and terrible and they fell out of favor. Instead we chose to use synthetic plastic faux fur. Now we are realizing that actually we are killing nearly as many animals as before for meat, but we are wasting their hides while the synthetic ones that we chose instead will NEVER rot away. Ooops. Honor the animal, tan it’s hide and use it.

Laundry Soap
Making your own laundry soap at home will eliminate all the horrid ingredients that there is in commercial detergent.

Hand Wash Clothes
While it is not my first choice, sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do!

DIY Cleaners
Be it for reducing your plastic waste, reducing chemicals or saving money, making your own cleaners is a great choice.

If you are lucky enough to have a backyard (or even a front one, or a patio for that matter) you can have a garden. It could be as simple as growing herbs on your windowsill or as big as a couple of acres. Growing food is one of the old fashioned survival skills that you have to learn!

So there you are, 33 old fashioned traditional skills that you can learn and that your wallet will thank you for.

Not just your wallet though, your health, your family and the earth will thank you. Every tiny bit helps. And you will feel super proud when you master an old timey skill. You will feel amazing. I promise.

What old timey traditional skills are you keen to learn? Tell me about it in the comments below!

Dana is a homesteading, homeschooling mama to 3, based in the south of New Zealand.

She is a Certified Ketogenic Living Coach, and natural wellness expert, as well as a Registered Nurse, with post grad training in mothers and babies. She has struggled with infertility and PCOS and conceived all 3 babies naturally.

Dana is passionate about natural health and gentle parenting. With a background in well child / baby nursing she loves sharing what she knows with mamas, mamas-to-be and mama-want-to-be’s.

Hello and welcome, I’m Dana.
I want to help you make your self-sufficient dreams a reality.
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Piwakawaka Valley Homestead is here to help you learn exactly how you can homestead anywhere. Homesteading is a mindset, a way of life – Get in to it!

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